Vidéo

Video: Rob Newbold's IRONMAN Florida Journey

At the age of two, Rob Newbold’s oldest son Austin was diagnosed with nonverbal language disorder, which is on the Autism Spectrum. Last November, Newbold competed in his first IRONMAN in Florida, raising money through the IRONMAN Foundation for Austism Speaks, the world’s largest autism science and advocacy organization.

Autism Speaks is dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, and treatments for autism; increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders; and advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families. Today one in every 88 children will be diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Without proper fundraising, the puzzle of autism will never be solved.

Newbold's wife suggested that he use the IRONMAN race as an opportunity to raise money for charity. At first, he was skeptical, as he did not really have any fundraising experience, and expected that his efforts would not be very successful.

"However, once we got started, we have been completely overwhelmed by the positive response. The IRONMAN Foundation suggests adding a fundraising target when starting a campaign. I had no idea what to put, but thought a big number like $10,000 (that we never thought we would reach), might encourage people to give more. To my amazement, we hit that target in less than 24 hours, and were over $20,000 in the first two weeks! I am truly blown away by the positive response and support of my friends and colleagues in this endeavor and am forever grateful for their generosity. I would strongly encourage any athlete thinking about competing in these events to use the opportunity to raise money through the IRONMAN Foundation," said Rob on his fundraising efforts through The IRONMAN Foundation’s "Your Journey, Your Cause" program.

Until about two years before the race, Newbold had only run five miles once in his life (and hated it), didn’t own a road bike, and had never swam a lap. A friend talked Rob into signing up for a sprint triathlon. Even completing that distance was a major challenge and he finished towards the bottom of his group. However, he was instantly hooked and immediately started looking for the next race. Six months later, Newbold had completed two Olympic distance triathlons, and his first marathon. Eventually he was ready to take on a full-distance race and managed to help both his son and many others through his efforts.

Follow more inspirational stories from IRONMAN Florida this weekend by using the hashtag #IMFL on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Visit ironman.com on race day to track your athlete and follow the race via the live blog.